New Scandinavian collaboration builds bridges to emerging markets in Africa.
Access2innovation, Inclusive Business Sweden, and Norwegian-African Business Association are now launching a joint partnership and innovation platform building the bridge between Scandinavia and the emerging markets in Africa.
With support from InterReg-ØKS, the partners have engaged in joint analysis and workshops with key stakeholders to draft a coherent Scandinavian ecosystem for supporting SMEs targeting developing markets in Africa. The bridge-building project has focused on:
- Identifying challenges and opportunities in SME-university collaboration to develop the needed solutions
- Developing a framework for value-chain mapping tailored to developing markets (aquaculture, grains, and health)
- Mapping and analyzing the Scandinavian ecosystem for public and private finance, supporting SMEs targeting developing markets
Following this bridge-building project the partners will now engage in developing a coherent Scandinavian accelerator platform to cater for sustainable growth. Anchored in the newest research, this will be with the ambition to support Nordic SMEs in developing sustainable products and business models in partnership with local stakeholders and to attract the needed finance to succeed on the African continent. The project has been financed by InterReg ØKS. Link to the project’s documentation report can be found here.
Our partnership with Inclusive Business Sweden and Norwegian-African Business Association has clearly underlined the existing synergies and potential to boost Scandinavian and African innovation and business development. Our partnerships hold the potential to expand our joint network, provide hands-on support and provide the needed anchor point for engaging with private investors. Says Jacob Ravn, CEO, Access2innovation.
